Editing Dialect (section)

===Greater China===
{{Main|Varieties of Chinese#Classification}}
Unlike languages that use alphabets to indicate their pronunciation, [[Chinese characters]] have developed from [[logograms]] that do not always give hints to their pronunciation. Although the written characters have remained relatively consistent for the last two thousand years, the pronunciation and grammar in different regions have developed to an extent that the [[Varieties of Chinese|varieties of the spoken language]] are often mutually unintelligible. As a series of migration to the south throughout the history, the regional languages of the south, including [[Gan Chinese|Gan]], [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]], [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], [[Min Chinese|Min]], [[Yue Chinese|Yue]] and [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] often show traces of [[Old Chinese]] or [[Middle Chinese]].

From the [[Ming dynasty]] onward, Beijing has been the capital of China and the dialect spoken in Beijing has had the most prestige among other varieties. With the founding of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]], [[Standard Mandarin]] was designated as the official language, based on the spoken language of Beijing. Since then, other spoken varieties are regarded as ''fangyan'' (regional speech). [[Cantonese]] is still the most commonly-used language in [[Guangzhou]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Macau]] and among some overseas Chinese communities, whereas [[Taiwanese Hokkien|Hokkien]] has been accepted in [[Taiwan]] as an important local language alongside [[Taiwanese Mandarin|Mandarin]]. Then starting in the 1950s, the [[written Chinese|written language]] also diverged when the [[People's Republic of China]] introduced [[simplified characters]], which are now used throughout the country. [[Traditional characters]] are still the norm in Taiwan and some other overseas communities.